Oppo BDP-103 Universal 3D 4K Blu-ray Player Video Review

[admin]

Oppo has hit another one out of the park. The BDP-103 may not be light years ahead of the BDP-93, but it is ready for 4K conversion and the Marvell Qdeo processing is one of the best systems on the market in our testing. The player has some other whiz-bang features like 2D-to-3D conversion but overall you want to buy this if you've been out of the market for a while or are looking for a flagship Blu-ray player. If you've already got a BDP-93 - congratulations you've made a fine choice and there's little reason to upgrade just yet.

Discuss "Oppo BDP-103 Universal 3D 4K Blu-ray Player Video Review" here. Read the article.

 

[Blue Dude]

I have my BDP-103 running in split A/V mode, with the Marvell processor output on HDMI 1 going to my Epson 5020 projector, and HDMI 2 going through my aging Onkyo 805 receiver to a mid range Panny plasma. The Oppo does a fine job of processing both video streams without the need for matrix switching or other workarounds. It turned out to be a perfect solution to running two displays with different requirements of picture quality.

The cleanup capabilities of the Marvell are very, very good. It makes DVD's look presentable on the projection screen. You'll never confuse a DVD with a Blu-ray, but it zaps a number of compression artifacts and helps fix color banding issues by outputting in deep color and/or dithering. It will also output DVD's at 1080p/24, which is a neat trick.

I'm going back and watching my entire catalog on the projector now, not just Blu-rays but DVD's as well, because of this device. It'll take a while but I've never seen anything like this before.

 

[itlnstln]

Blue Dude:

Reading the literature on the Oppo site, it appears that the BDP-103 will process video using the Qdeo processor from the HDMI inputs. Do you know if this is the case? If it's just a switch, I don't really care, but well-processed video from my TiVo would be nice (I obviously don't have an external processor). I have an older, pre-HDMI receiver that I've been on the fence about upgrading, and I could put off upgrading the receiver if this were the case (It's an older Yamaha that I love but it's getting long in the tooth). TIA!

 

[Blue Dude]

The Oppo doesn't just switch the HDMI inputs, it considers them sources and runs them through the same processing as though they were off the disc. I haven't spent much time with other inputs, except to screen a couple of movies off my DVR through the Oppo to the projector. It works as advertised.

 

[itlnstln]

The Oppo doesn't just switch the HDMI inputs, it considers them sources and runs them through the same processing as though they were off the disc. I haven't spent much time with other inputs, except to screen a couple of movies off my DVR through the Oppo to the projector. It works as advertised.

Brilliant! Thanks for you help. I know what's on my Xmas shopping list now.

 

[dmusoke]

Audio noise tests???

I see no audio lab tests. Do you plan to do any???

 

[redcastle]

Needing some source of reference for rating

I am a wanna be audio/videophile and the Oppo-BDP-103 sounds great with the perfect benchmark score. However, I don't know what score the "average" blu-ray player would earn. Can someone help me out with that?

I have about a four year old Samsung BDP-1500. Any idea what score that would earn?

 

[High Fidelity]

Oppo has hit another one out of the park. The BDP-103 may not be light years ahead of the BDP-93, but it is ready for 4K conversion and the Marvell Qdeo processing is one of the best systems on the market in our testing. The player has some other whiz-bang features like 2D-to-3D conversion but overall you want to buy this if you've been out of the market for a while or are looking for a flagship Blu-ray player. If you've already got a BDP-93 - congratulations you've made a fine choice and there's little reason to upgrade just yet.

Discuss "Oppo BDP-103 Universal 3D 4K Blu-ray Player Video Review" here. Read the article.

I was disappointed with the Oppo 93 IMO the Sony BDP-790 is much better value

 

[Darkwing_duck]

I was disappointed with the Oppo 93 IMO the Sony BDP-790 is much better value

Whats wrong with the Oppo 93? How does a Sony blu ray player beat it?

 

[PENG]

Whats wrong with the Oppo 93? How does a Sony blu ray player beat it?

I see you have in quote "better value", not "beat it". I don't have the 790 but the 590 (no 4K). I am guessing one can get a 790 for half the price of that for the 93. It has 4K capability plus better network stuff such as Netflix 5.1DD+, Skype etc., but cannot play DVD-A and HDCD so in the terms of features they may be comparable. So if one doesn't need 4K, DVDA, HDCD then one may think the 790 offers "better value", just guessing..

 

[j_garcia]

In terms of video, I do think some minor qualifying statements might be necessary. On a 32" tv, you will not see any difference with any BD player IMO. On a 120" screen however, the differences in superior processing will likely be more obvious but still not night an day. Back in the days of DVD, there were big differences between players based on the decoding they used. Today, I think most people on an average size display (42"-55") would be hard pressed to really tell the difference.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

I see you have in quote "better value", not "beat it". I don't have the 790 but the 590 (no 4K). I am guessing one can get a 790 for half the price of that for the 93. It has 4K capability plus better network stuff such as Netflix 5.1DD+, Skype etc., but cannot play DVD-A and HDCD so in the terms of features they may be comparable. So if one doesn't need 4K, DVDA, HDCD then one may think the 790 offers "better value", just guessing..

Sorry value would be a better word to use. And i see your point in terms of what the players offer side by side. I took it as the S790 having better video/sound playback than the Oppo 93. Or would i be wrong to assume that? Is it the same? Also how come Audioholics didnt do any resolution tests with the S790 review? In fact, they didnt use any video calibration test disk at all.....*whispers* i think they just watched a movie and agreed the playback looked fine

 

[PENG]

Sorry value would be a better word to use. And i see your point in terms of what the players offer side by side. I took it as the S790 having better video/sound playback than the Oppo 93. Or would i be wrong to assume that? Is it the same? Also how come Audioholics didnt do any resolution tests with the S790 review? In fact, they didnt use any video calibration test disk at all.....*whispers* i think they just watched a movie and agreed the playback looked fine

I suspect if you put them through a battery of video performance tests on the bench, the Oppo would yield slightly better results, but watching real world material I really can't pick out a winner between my Sony 380, 590, Oppo 95 and now the 105. No I did not do a side by side comparison but I see no reason to waste my time doing it.

 

[Grador]

I suspect if you put them through a battery of video performance tests on the bench, the Oppo would yield slightly better results...

I would venture to doubt even this. Beyond possibly scaling better I would hope that the decode performance would be extremely similar.

 

[PENG]

I would venture to doubt even this. Beyond possibly scaling better I would hope that the decode performance would be extremely similar.

By video performance tests I referred to scaling and de-interlacing only.

 

[Grador]

By video performance tests I referred to scaling and de-interlacing only.

In that case, yes I agree.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

So why do people rave about the Oppo players if HD playback could possibly be the same as players HALF its price? Could you assume all those owners use the de-interlacing function for DVDs? Id just stick with a Sony S790 then or one without 4k playback to save a few bucks

 

[Grador]

So why do people rave about the Oppo players if HD playback could possibly be the same as players HALF its price? Could you assume all those owners use the de-interlacing function for DVDs? Id just stick with a Sony S790 then or one without 4k playback to save a few bucks

The built in DACs are better than that built into your receiver. Some (many?) would argue that this is irreverent. What they get you for certain are fantastic build quality and the ability to play almost all formats of disk.

 

[PENG]

So why do people rave about the Oppo players if HD playback could possibly be the same as players HALF its price? Could you assume all those owners use the de-interlacing function for DVDs? Id just stick with a Sony S790 then or one without 4k playback to save a few bucks

People also rave about the 790, and I bet Sony sells more players than Oppo. Both have their fans, and that's quite normal.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

looks like Andrew Robinson managing editor over at hometheaterequipment.com had a few things to say about the S790 and its 4K upscaling capability : Post 9 and 12
Sony Ships 4K Blu-ray Player (BDP-S790 Including UltraViolet™)


"
It actually doesn't matter for the player is still a 1080p player at heart and as for the 4K projector, well, it does it's own upscaling, making the player's upscaling largely irrelevant. There's actually no way to test Sony's 4K upscaling claims as it pertains to the Blu-ray player for even if left on your HDTV isn't going to look any different. I couldn't even feed the upscaled 4K image to my JVC e-Shift fauxK projector for even it can only accept a 1080p signal before upscaling it internally to QFHD.

It's a stupid feature on a stupid player that is half cocked and nothing more than an interim product aimed at cashing in on the uninformed before the player you really want, and will NEED, is released."

and

"
Why bother with 4K upscaling? 1080p upscaling was one thing when we all had 1080p HDTVs but no one has 4K displays. Furthermore, when we do have 4K displays why would you make a pit stop at buying a 4K upscaling Blu-ray player when real 4K players are right around the corner? I have to believe that early 4K displays will have to upscale, which again, makes the Sony player silly. Now, are the other features it offers worthwhile? Maybe, I can't comment on that, but the feature they're hoping will attract people, 4K, that's unnecessary.

I must say I'm not impressed with how 4K is being handled and rolled out thus far. It's really disheartening to me because I'm a huge proponent of the technology."